Our extended family includes "Uncle Sam," who is a particularly gifted storyteller. There's a bear tree near his cabin, and his explanation of the tree -- and what bears do there -- got quite a giggle from my kids when they were little.

Bears, who normally live solitary lives in the woods, use bear trees to communicate with each other. The bears mark the tree, reach up as high as they can to claw at it, and rub their butt against it.

In Sam's telling, it goes like this: "I'm a bear, I'm this tall, and my butt smells like this."